Man suspected in pistol-whipping arrested in Santa Rosa

September 6, 2013, 4:18PM

09/06/2013

Santa Rosa police arrested a man Friday in connection with a lunchtime fight that left one person injured after being beaten with the butt of a pistol.

Sgt. Lisa Banayat said witnesses reported a fight involving two or more men near the intersection of Steele Lane and County Center Drive around 11:45 a.m. Friday. One man reportedly pulled out a handgun and struck another, leaving him visibly injured.

The suspect fled into a neighborhood south of Steele Lane, adjacent to Santa Rosa Junior College. Witnesses reported seeing him discard something into the bushes at a house on Nordyke Avenue, and other witnesses later reported him walking on Salem Avenue.

Officers found a gun in front of the Nordyke Avenue house, Banayat said, and they spent about 30 minutes searching homes and yards along Salem Avenue. A man matching the description of the suspect eventually emerged and surrendered without incident, she said.

Joseph Vicino, 29, was booked into Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. Bail was set at $50,000.

He was treated at the scene by paramedics for visible injuries, including a cut to his left cheek, but Banayat said it is not clear whether he sustained the injuries in the fight; he was not injured in the course of the arrest, Banayat said.

It's not clear what led to the fight or even how many people were involved, she said.